The Demon Threat
by LittleFrost3791
Summary: COMPLETE::: While on a field trip, one of Gohan's classmates accidently sets loose a hoarde of Demons upon the earth! Now it's up to the Saiyans to defeat an emey with unlimited magical powers! Please R&R!
1. Gohan's Field Trip

Chapter One: Gohan's Field Trip  
  
Our story begins just over three years after the defeat of the android known as Cell. After using Dende's Dragonballs to call forth Shenlong and wish those killed by the evil machine back to life, our heroes went back to their daily lives.  
  
Yamcha once again took up baseball, this time as the team's coach! Tien and Chozu resumed their training, but flew deep into the wilderness for some solitude. Krillen moved in with Master Roshi and Oolong. He caught a glimpse of his crush, Android 18, on several occasions while shopping in South City. It appeared as though even the former villain had chosen to live a normal life.  
  
Vegeta took off in his spaceship shortly after the Dragon's summoning. His reasons were unclear, but nobody challenged his decision. Piccolo took a spaceship also, but his destination was well known; the Namek had journeyed to New Namek to see his brethern on the distant planet.  
  
With Goku now gone, there was no one to stop Chi Chi from making Gohan study like crazy! Unfortunately for him, he was expelled from his first school after having missed so many days while fighting the androids. He was soon after accepted into a new school, but after being taunted into a fight with a bully, he had accidentally destroyed a portion of the school's parking lot, and was expelled from there as well! Finally, Gohan was accepted into a boarding school some miles from home, and was able to keep himself from trouble for the first half of the year.  
  
So, for a short while, peace was restored to the world. But as we all should have learned by now, peace is a word that is not in an author's vocabulary, be he animator, or just another fan of the show who happens to have an interest in writing.  
  
*****  
  
"Hey, move it kid! Get out of my way!" smirked an older boy as he pushed Gohan aside and slid into the school bus door.  
  
"Jerk," muttered Gohan's friend Blair, who stood beside him. Gohan turned to him.  
  
"Hey, forget that guy," he said, "He's just a big loser with no friends!" He gave Blair a reassuring nod, and then boarded the bus. The bus driver was standing at the front of the bus. He confronted the two friends boarding.  
  
"I'm sorry boys, but there is no room left. You'll have to wait for the next bus," he stated dryly before returning to his seat. Gohan and Blair looked at each other sadly, then got back off the bus. One of the windows opened, and the older boy who had shoved Gohan before stuck his head out.  
  
"Ha! I was in front of you so I got your seats!" he smirked. Before either boy could give a response, the bus' engine roared and they were left standing on the sidewalk in front of the school.  
  
"Ah! I hate that guy!" cried Blair in rage, "Where does he get off pushing you aside, and taking out seats?" Gohan's response was cool and calm, just like him.  
  
"Don't worry about it, I'd rather not get into another fight over this," he informed Blair.  
  
"Why not?" the other inquired, "You could take him!"  
  
"I know, but that's not the point," replied Gohan, "Besides, I have a better idea!" He grinned broadly, although Blair had no idea what he had in mind. Suddenly, Gohan's arms wrapped around Blair tightly.  
  
"Wa! What are you doing?" cried his friend. Gohan just smiled and replied,  
  
"Hold on tight!" With that, he suddenly kicked off from the ground and flew after the school bus, brining Blair along for the ride.  
  
"Woah! Man, Gohan, this sure beats sitting in that hot bus!" exclaimed Blair. Gohan smiled and nodded. He kept his speed low, not wanting to go too fast for his friend, who was new to the experience of flying. Soon they caught up to the bus. Gohan lowered himself so that he flew beside it. He took one hand off of Blair and tapped on the window with his fist. The older boy was so schocked that he spit his soda out all over the two girls sitting in front of him. Gohan and Blair laughed hard, then Gohan quickened his speed and they quickly overtook the bus.  
  
*****  
  
When Gohan and Blair arrived at the ruins where their school was going for a field trip, they ate a small lunch that consisted of sushi and tofu. It was nearly an hour later before the first of the five school buses carrying their classmates arrived. Aboard the first bus was the school's principle, Ms. Shen. She rushed toward the boys with a look of pure anger on her face.  
  
"What do you think you were doing?" she exclaimed. Gohan opened his mouth to say something, but she didn't let him speak, "How dare you just. just."  
  
"Fly?" offered Blair.  
  
"Yes! Fly!" cried Ms. Shen, "You scared poor Hendel half to death, and the twins that were seated in front of him covered in his drink! Not to mention that the bus driver almost crashed the bus because he was watching you!"  
  
Again, Gohan was about to say something, but he again he was cut off.  
  
"I realize that you have some. magic powers at your disposal, Gohan, but do not use them unless you have to! Nobody else has that kind of power! Nobody else can fly! And you shouldn't either!" She stormed off while mumbling something that Gohan couldn't catch.  
  
"She's acting a bit grumpy today, eh Gohan?" said Blair. Gohan nodded.  
  
"She's just jealous because she can't fly!" said Gohan trying to repress a laugh. Suddenly Blair burst out laughing, and Gohan couldn't help but join in.  
  
*****  
  
After the other students had eaten their lunch, the group of about 300 students proceeded to enter the Japanese ruins. They had special permission by the archeologists because they were studying ancient lore, and said they could enter the chambers that had already been explored. Most kids couldn't care less, but Ms. Shen had been eager to take advantage of such a generous offer.  
  
They divided into groups of ten, each placed in charge of one of the site excavators. The good news was that Gohan and Blair were in the same group. The bad news was that Hendel was in their group as well, and he was less than pleasant about what had happened on the bus.  
  
Their group entered the ruins first. The archeologist led them through several passageways before stopping to enter a room. The whole time he was talking about the history of the site, but nobody paid much attention except Gohan.  
  
"We believe this room to be the entrance to the tomb of an emperor who lived over a thousand years ago," the guide was saying, "The writing on the walls suggests many traps and dangers in the passageway that goes down into the tomb, so we haven't explored that area yet. Now, moving on."  
  
"Do you believe in all that traps and curses stuff that goes along with ancient tombs?" asked Blair to Gohan.  
  
"I really don't know," he replied, "Some people consider energy blasts as magic, so it's possible that people hundreds of years ago had it too."  
  
"Good point," said Blair as he walked in quiet thought. Just then, Hendel walked up beside them.  
  
"Magic? Yeah, right!" he whispered harshly, "There is nothing down there, the science nerds are just to scared to go down into the dark!" he began to laugh loudly, which made the group leader shoot him an angry look.  
  
"If you so sure of that," said Blair, "Why don't you go down and see for yourself."  
  
"Maybe you'll get lost down there and we'll never have to see your ugly face again!" added Gohan. They both broke out laughing and got a glare from the leader as well. Hendel scowled and walked off.  
  
*****  
  
It was some time later when Gohan noticed that Hendel wasn't with the group anymore. He moved over beside Blair and whispered,  
  
"I don't see Hendel anywhere. You don't suppose he actually went down into the tomb, do you? I was just kidding about that."  
  
"I wasn't!" laughed Blair. Gohan glared at him.  
  
"He may be a bully, but he could be in danger," he told Blair.  
  
"Okay, well even if he is, what are we going to do about it?" asked Blair. Gohan checked to make sure the guide wasn't looking before he grabbed Blair's arm and crouched behind a nearby doorway until the rest of the group was gone.  
  
*****  
  
Down in the tunnel that led to the tomb, Hendel was muttering to himself. Those two brats that he had managed to upset weren't scared of him at all. If anything, he was scared of them. Gohan could fly!? What the heck? Hendel was tough, but he couldn't fight someone if they were in the air! No, the only way to prove that he was right was to go down into the tomb and come back out carrying something.  
  
The passageway gradually sloped down before suddenly opening into a huge room with lots of gold and jewels scattered everywhere! Hendel's eyes went wide. He began stuffing the precious items into his pockets before turning to examine the huge gold coffin that lay in the middle of the room.  
  
He approached it slowly, not really believing the stories of mummies and monsters that were supposed to dwell in places like this. Still. the room was deathly quiet, and he was a little frightened.  
  
Taking a very deep breath, he slowly, carefully pushed off the lid. Inside was. nothing but dust. A loud gasp escaped his mouth and he let out the air he had been holding. He laughed out loud, ashamed that he had been scared in the first place. He did not notice the giant shadow looming over him from behind.  
  
*****  
  
As Gohan and Blair made their way cautiously back to the entrance to the tomb, they said nothing. Neither new why, but suddenly everything was quiet, and they didn't feel much like disturbing it. Suddenly, without warning, a loud and high-pitched shriek came from somewhere below them, followed by an even louder scream. Gohan and Blair quickly looked at each other, and then bolted into the tomb room, and down the passageway.  
  
*****  
  
In the tomb, the shadowy creature released his grip on the human's neck and turned toward the entrance to the tomb. Someone was coming - someone just as powerful as he was. He quickly leaped up onto the ceiling, and crawled over to rest just above the entrance.  
  
*****  
  
Gohan and Blair quickly reached the bottom of the stairs. The raced into the room, not bothering to even glace at the millions of dollars that could be gained by selling the gold and jewels. Before them, Hendel was slouched up against the open gold coffin. His head was down and he wasn't moving.  
  
"Hendel!" cried Gohan as he shook the older boy, "Come on and wake up! Don't be dead!" Slowly, Hendel stirred. He managed to bring his head up.  
  
"What.? Gohan.? Why did you come down here?" he managed to ask.  
  
"Stay still," replied Gohan, "I think your neck may be broken, or at least damaged. What happened here??" Hendel breathed loudly for a minute, then managed to talk again.  
  
"I was attacked from behind. I'm not sure what it was - I didn't see it, but." his voice trailed off.  
  
"But.?" asked Gohan, "Tell me what happened." his voice soon trailed off as well as he noticed that Hendel was staring past him, and he wasn't breathing.  
  
"Gohan!" cried Blair. Gohan whirled around just in time to see a huge black thing drop down from the ceiling. It was like a skeleton, but the bones were black, and there was still mussel tissue all over them, but it was purple. Two giant black wings were folded up behind it, and a huge black cloak draped over much of the thing's body. It was big too - at least seven feet tall, and the head had giant horns extending from either side of its head.  
  
"Get behind me," he ordered Blair. The other boy didn't argue. He quickly scrambled behind the tomb and peered over the edge to watch.  
  
"Why did you kill that boy?" Gohan asked the black monster.  
  
"What does it matter to you?" it snarled, "I looked into his mind - you weren't exactly friends with him."  
  
"You looked into his mind?" asked Gohan in confusion, "Just what are you?" The black thing laughed. The sound was terrible. It made Gohan wince and Blair cover his ears.  
  
"I am a Demon, little one!" it cried.  
  
"No, that's impossible," replied Gohan, "There is no such thing as Demons!" Again, the thing laughed.  
  
"Perhaps you are right. Demons are things summoned from Hell. I am much worse than that!" He took a step toward Gohan, "A thousand years ago, several of my brother began to study ancient magic. But, the magic subdued us. It made us evil. We were locked away down here until your friend had the good decency to set us free."  
  
"Us?" asked Gohan, "I only see you here!"  
  
"The others like me have already left. They seek our great king, who is a thousand times more powerful than any of us could ever be! He was imprisoned in another temple. But frankly, that is none of your concern, since you are going to die down here!"  
  
Then the Demon lunged at him. His speed was amazing for someone so big. Gohan, who was expecting more talk, barely managed to get out of the way in time. It's fist slammed into the golden coffin, cracking it in many places.  
  
Gohan reacted quickly, his Saiyan instincts taking over. He thrust his foot into the Demon's side as hard as he could. It went flying into the wall and was suddenly still.  
  
"Good job, Gohan!" cried Blair as he ran out from his hiding place.  
  
"Blair! No!" cried Gohan. The Demon, who was far from dead, suddenly recovered from hitting the wall, and rushed towards Blair. Gohan extended his right arm and gathered as much energy as he could in the short amount of time he had. The energy took the form of a blue energy ball. When the Demon was just about to strike down Blair, he shot the energy ball forward. It slammed into the Demon's side and sent it into another wall.  
  
"Blair! Go! Get out of here and warn the others!" cried Gohan.  
  
"What about you?" asked Blair.  
  
"I'll be fine, just go!" Blair stumbled once, then ran up the stairs that would take him to the rest of the students. Again the Demon was up. He faced Gohan, who assumed a fighting stance.  
  
"So, you know some magic too," stated the Demon.  
  
"Where I'm from, we call it Ki," replied Gohan. The Demon nodded.  
  
"I am aware of that form of magic," it said, "Yours is the kind whereby you summon energy from yourself. Ours in the kind whereby we summon energy from the netherworld." It laughed again, "Your magic is only as strong as the user!" Gohan smiled,  
  
"Well I guess it's too bad for you that I am strong!" he smirked. The Demon then proceeded to attack again.  
  
*****  
  
Blair was outside the ruins in moments. Ms. Shen ran up to him.  
  
"What has happened? Where are Gohan and Hendel?" she cried. Behind her, the rest of the school was piling into the buses, not bothering to collect their backpacks or lunches that were still on the wooden tables.  
  
"Some kind of Demon killed Hendel," gasped Blair, who was low on air from running. Ms. Shen gasped as well, but in horror. "Gohan is fighting it. He told me to make sure we all got out of here, now!"  
  
"W. what?" asked the principle, "What about him?"  
  
"Gohan can take care of himself!" cried Blair, "Let's go!" He grabbed Ms. Shen by the arm and practically dragged her toward the buses. She climbed on, and Blair was about to too, but he took a moment to look back at the ruins where Gohan was fighting the Demon. Suddenly, yellow light exploded from hundreds of points on the ruins. Less than a second later, the ruins exploded violently. Blair was forced to shield his eyes from the blast, and the students in the buses just looked on in horror.  
  
When the smoke had cleared, Gohan was floating above the ground just above the remains of the temple. His hair was pushed up and was spiky and was now blonde. He had yellow fire running all over his body. At first Blair was going to cry out, but then he realized that this was part of Gohan's strange fighting powers.  
  
Suddenly, the Demon leaped up from within the rubble and charged Gohan. He was so fast that Gohan couldn't react, even in Super Saiyan form. The Demon landed a punch across his face, then planted another in the side of his head before he could react. Gohan recovered and threw his own punch, but the Demon was already moving. It dodged to one side and kicked Gohan hard in the neck. The half-Saiyan was drilled into the earth.  
  
The Demon straightened, and suddenly red fire leaped up all around him. Red lighting began to gather on his two horns. The electricity formed a glowing red ball, and suddenly Blair new what was happening. Without pausing to think, he raced toward Gohan shouting wildly, trying to warn him. The Demon then leaned forward so that his horns faced the unmoving form of Gohan. It let out a scream, and red and white lightning shot out toward Gohan.  
  
The young Saiyan was vaguely aware of the attack. Suddenly, something moved between him and the light. It was Blair! Gohan's friend stood between Gohan and the Demon! The lightning slammed into him with such force that he was knocked backwards into the ground. Gohan reacted quickly, throwing large amounts of energy into a shield that protected his friend from the rest of the attack. The Demon's lighting subsided, and it charged Gohan once again.  
  
This time, Gohan was blinded by rage. The Demon had attacked his friend because he wasn't strong enough to recover in time to counterattack! He was angry with himself, but he was angrier at the Demon. Suddenly, the rage took complete control of him. Gohan screamed at the top of his lungs as his power suddenly soared higher than it had gone in years. The yellow fire around him increased, and his hair became golden and even more pointed. Blue lightning began to gather around his fists and chest as he reached the level of Super Saiyan 2.  
  
When the Demon was almost on him, Gohan brought his arms to his side and cupped them. He gathered as much energy as he could into the space between his hands, forming a blue ball of energy. He began to scream again as every muscle in his body tensed with the power he was created. Gohan didn't realize it, but the ground around him was shaking violently, and two of the school buses had been overturned from the wind that his power-up created. When he finally had enough energy he shouted,  
  
"KAMEHAMEHA!!!" and brought his arms forward. A massive beam of blue energy shot forward toward the Demon. The dark thing barely had time to react. It brought its own arms out forward and fires a red beam at Gohan's blast. The two met midway between the two fighters. The force of the impact threw the remaining buses over, but the students could only stare at the bizarre sight before of them.  
  
The beams were evenly matched, and Gohan's arms ached from the strain of trying to maintain the blast. The Demon showed no signs of tiring because as he pointed out, his magic was not sapping his own strength, so he could keep it up as long as he wanted!  
  
Then Gohan remembered how he beat Cell. He had unleashed all his energy at once. It didn't matter that he had passed out afterwards! What mattered was that the enemy was destroyed, and there was no reason why the same strategy wouldn't work here.  
  
Brining up every single ounce of power he had, Gohan pushed it all into his hands. The beam began to glow intensely as it received more power. Then, he released it.  
  
Gohan's beam suddenly exploded with energy. Instead of flowing from his hands, it now appeared to flow from all around him! The blue energy surged through the beam, and finally struck into the Demon's blast. But this time, the Demon didn't have the strength to withstand it. He had no idea that the boy could summon this much energy.  
  
Gohan's Kamehameha quickly pushed back the Demon's blast and overtook him. The energy was suddenly all around the monster, eating away at his body. It shrieked again and again, and clawed at the energy trying to make it go away. But every second he was immersed in the blast, the demon's body began to disintegrate until nothing was left. With one final shriek, it fell from the sky, now little more than a burnt-up skeleton.  
  
Gohan crawled over to Blair. He was unconscious, and horrible looking burns were left all over his chest, but he was alive. Gohan breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed beside him. He felt the hands of someone pick him up and begin to carry him somewhere. He should have been happy for saving his schoolmates from the Demon, but he couldn't help being sad for his friend who was in worse shape than he. He also couldn't forget what the Demon had said:  
  
"The others like me have already left. They seek our great king, who is a thousand times more powerful than any of us could ever be!"  
  
With that on his mind, Gohan sank into unconsciousness.  
  
*****  
  
Author's Notes: This is my first Dragonball Z story, but not my first story. I love writing, but please don't judge my writing capability solely by this story. Please review and tell me what you think! If I get a couple good reviews then I will put up Chapter 2! If you want, you can also contact me at little_frost3791@hotmail.com or you can add me to your MSN list. 


	2. A Recovery and a Betrayal

Chapter Two: A Recovery and a Betrayal  
  
Gohan's eyes opened slowly. His head hurt, and his whole body was sore, and he wanted to go back to sleep. But he couldn't. The pain that had woken him up wouldn't permit him to go to sleep. His eyes slowly adjusted to his surroundings. He was in the hospital, in a small room with a bed and a small bathroom. He was under several layers of white blankets and he was bandaged all over.  
  
"He's awake!" someone cried. The yell hurt Gohan's head, and he winced at the pain. Suddenly, the face of his mother appeared over him.  
  
"Oh, high there Mom," muttered Gohan wearily.  
  
"My Gohan is alive!" she cried again.  
  
"Please, Mom, not so loud!" said Gohan, "My head really hurts. . ."  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry dear," said Chi Chi quietly. A moment later a doctor appeared and looked down at Gohan from over his clipboard.  
  
"How are you feeling, Gohan?" he asked.  
  
"My heard hurts," replied Gohan, "and I ache all over. . ." The doctor scribbled something down on the clipboard.  
  
"Well I can image," he said after a moment, "Why don't you tell me what happened?" So Gohan related everything that happened on the field trip up until when he lost consciousness. The doctor wrote something down several times, but never interrupted him. He looked as though he believed everything, even though some things seemed so far fetched.  
  
"But I don't know how I got here," Gohan said when he was finished.  
  
"Well I can explain that," said the doctor. "After you fainted, your principle called an ambulance and got both you and your friend to this hospital. . ."  
  
"I almost forgot!" interrupted Gohan as he sat up, "What happened to Blair. . ." blood suddenly rushed to his head, and he flopped back down in exhaustion.  
  
"Relax," said the doctor, "Your friend will be fine. He's got a lot of burns on his chest, but they should heal up in a few weeks. We're keeping him sedated though, because if he woke up he would probably be in a lot of pain." Gohan nodded, relived that his friend would be all right.  
  
"What about Gohan!" cried Chi Chi, "He's going to be alright too, right?"  
  
"Yes, yes, don't worry Ms. Your son had a lot of cuts and scrapes, and he's exhausted, but he'll be find in a couple days," replied the doctor. "But now," he turned to Gohan, "You need to rest some more. Close your eyes. I'll give you something for the pain." He placed a small pill in Gohan's mouth. He swallowed it, and almost immediately his pain was gone, and he was fast asleep once again.  
  
*****  
  
While he slept, Gohan had many nightmares. He dreamt that the other Demons and their leader had destroyed the world, and that he was the only one left. He dreamt that it was his fault, and that by taking it easy he was dooming the world because there was nobody to warn the other Z Fighters.  
  
Gohan woke with a scream; the dreams still fresh in his mind. He lay back down on his pillow and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Suddenly his mother came rushing into the room and flicked on all the lights.  
  
"Gohan! What's wrong?" she cried.  
  
"Nothing, Mom. I just had a nightmare," replied Gohan.  
  
"Oh," said Chi Chi, "Is there anything I can do?"  
  
"No, thank you anyway," said Gohan. He closed his eyes and attempted go back to sleep. His mother switched off the lights, and was about to leave the room, when Gohan suddenly said,  
  
"Wait. There is something you could do. . ."  
  
*****  
  
Meanwhile at Capsule Corp., Bulma had just put little Trunks to bed. She flopped down on the couch and turned on the TV.  
  
"The ancient Japanese ruins that lay just south of South City were destroyed today. The cause is unknown, but our news chopper happened to be in the area around the time of the incident." Bulma leaned forward as the footage started.  
  
"What?" she asked to herself, "That look's like Gohan!" On the TV screen, the figure exploded in yellow fire as he transformed into a Super Saiyan. "That is Gohan!" she exclaimed!  
  
"The only fatality was the strange figure caught in that weird looking light. Although his body hasn't been found, authorities suspect he probably fell into the river and was swept downstream." Bulma laughed.  
  
"Ha! No, his body was disintegrated!" she said to the TV.  
  
"Here are some pictures taken of those wounded in this accident." The TV then showed several pictures of students who got hurt when the buses tipped. One picture showed an unconscious Gohan being carried into an ambulance. Bulma gasped when she saw him. He hadn't looked that bad since he fought Cell. Just then the phone rang.  
  
"Hello," said Bulma, "Oh! Chi Chi! I just heard about what happened on the TV! Gohan asked you to call me? Well, sure - I can be there in about half an hour!"  
  
*****  
  
Bulma rushed into the hospital, not bothering to re-pack her plane back into its capsule. She stopped at the front desk to find out which room Gohan was in, then hurried on. She opened the door to his room much more quietly than Chi Chi had been doing, but Gohan didn't notice because he was still sleeping.  
  
"Oh, hello Bulma," said Chi Chi. Bulma turned to look at her.  
  
"How is he?" she asked.  
  
"He'll be fine," replied Chi Chi, "The doctor said he would recover in a few days."  
  
"Oh, good."  
  
"Hey there Bulma," said a quiet voice. The two women turned to see that Gohan was now awake, and propped up on one arm.  
  
"Oh, hey Gohan," said Bulma as she walked over to look at him, "You look. . . good, kid." Gohan laughed.  
  
"I'm sure that I don't, but thank you anyway," he managed. Bulma smiled.  
  
"As observant as always, Gohan," she replied, "So why did you want to talk to me?" Gohan looked over to where his mom was sitting.  
  
"Mom, would you excuse us please?" he asked quietly. Chi Chi unfolded her arms.  
  
"Well. . . I guess so. . ." she said and reluctantly left the room.  
  
"Why didn't you want her in here?" asked Bulma. Gohan laughed again.  
  
"You know how my Mom gets when I'm in any kind of danger," he chuckled.  
  
"But you're not anymore, right?" asked Bulma, "You defeated that. . . thing at the ruins right?"  
  
"Well, yeah, but he said that there were other like him, and they were going to revive their leader who is more powerful than they are," answered Gohan.  
  
"And you believe that?" asked Bulma.  
  
"Why would it lie?" countered Gohan.  
  
"Well, what are we going to do about it?" asked Bulma, "Vegeta is gone, and Goku is dead. Trunks went back to the future. . . you're the only Saiyan left on earth!"  
  
"Do you think you could get your dad to send a message to Vegeta's ship?"  
  
"Sure, but why would he help? You know what Vegeta is like. . ."  
  
"Tell him that this enemy will be the worthiest opponent he's ever faced - that'll get him here in a hurry," laughed Gohan. Bulma gave him a stern look.  
  
"Gohan, you shouldn't lie!" she said. He turned to look at her.  
  
"I'm not lying, Bulma," he said seriously. She looked at him with a look of serious concern on her face.  
  
"Oh," she said simply, "Well I'll tell him for you. See you tomorrow, kid." He nodded his thanks and she left the room. Chi Chi re-entered the room.  
  
"Well you've had your little visitor, now go back to sleep," she ordered. Not having the strength of will to argue, he dropped back into a deep sleep.  
  
*****  
  
The next day, Dr. Brief was trying to get a signal to Vegeta's spaceship, but he couldn't seem to locate it. Finally Bulma came in and attempted to help, but neither had much luck.  
  
"He must be somewhere really far away," concluded Bulma's father finally, "Otherwise, the computer could find him more quickly." His daughter nodded. Suddenly, a red blip appeared on the monitor. Bulma leaned in closer to see where it was.  
  
"My gosh!" she exclaimed, "He's beyond the Omega Star! That's more than a seven month journey!" She pushed a button that opened a channel to the ship. "Vegeta," she said into the mike, "Vegeta, are you there?" After a moment's pause, the face of Vegeta appeared on the screen.  
  
"What is it!?" he said angrily, "I'm a busy man you know!"  
  
"Yeah, right," mumbled Bulma's father.  
  
"Vegeta, something has happened here that you should know about," said Bulma. She quickly related what had happened to Gohan over the past two days.  
  
"Big deal!" growled Vegeta, "This is Gohan's problem! I don't have time for this!"  
  
"Vegeta!" Bulma yelled. Somewhere in the building, little Trunks began to cry. "Gohan is hurt, and he needs your help to defeat these monsters! Personally, I would recommend he turn to Goku for help - at least he has the decency to help out when he is needed!" Vegeta shot her an angry glance.  
  
"Look," he said, "I'm too powerful to be bothered with something as trivial as this!"  
  
"Ha! Right!" cried Bulma, "Gohan had trouble defeating one of them, and he was the one who defeated Cell! As I recall Vegeta, you were beaten by him quite easily." Vegeta scowled again and punched his computer. The connection was lost, and Bulma was left staring at an empty screen.  
  
*****  
  
When Gohan awoke again, he knew something was very wrong. He looked over to where his mother had been sitting, but she had left the room, and turned the lights off when she had. He closed his eyes again, quickly dismissing the earlier feeling as merely a result of his nightmares. Then, a shadow loomed over him from the end of his bed. Gohan suddenly felt a strong Ki, but he kept his breathing even, and pretended to be asleep.  
  
Suddenly, something lunged at him. Gohan had almost no strength left to dodge the attack. Strong hands gripped his neck and lifted him high off the bed. Suddenly, the door to the room flew open and the doctor opened the door.  
  
"Doctor. . . help. . . me. . ." Gohan managed to get out between gasps. He was having trouble breathing and it took a lot of effort. He looked over at the doctor, who wasn't doing anything.  
  
"Why would I help you?" he asked. Gohan was left speechless. "I let that thing in," continued the doctor, "So he could kill you!" Gohan didn't know what to say. He didn't have the energy to say anything - he had to get free of whatever was holding him. With the light coming through the open door, Gohan managed to see that what was holding him was another Demon that looked a lot like the one he fought at the ruins.  
  
Suddenly, Gohan's air passageway was blocked. He couldn't breathe at all. His vision was blurred by black spots, and he began to disappear into unconsciousness. Just then, a yellow blur covered his vision and the Demon released his neck. Gohan dropped to the ground with a thud. The impact hurt every sore on his body, and he could barely breathe, but he managed to look up to see what had happened. Before him stood a figure in Saiyan armor, powered up to an Ascended Saiyan state.  
  
The Demon roared at Gohan's savior. It lunged toward him with fists flying, but the man dodged the attack and kneed the Demon square in the stomach. He then proceeded to land a one-two combo in his face. Then, with blinding speed, he whipped his right leg around and nailed the Demon in the chest. The final attack sent the thing through the wall and into a group of bushes just outside the hospital wall.  
  
"Thank you for saving me," managed Gohan between heavy breaths. His savior extended a hand to him. He accepted gratefully and looked up, expecting to see Vegeta standing there. But it wasn't Vegeta. It was Trunks.  
  
"Trunks!? What are you doing here?" asked Gohan, "Aren't you supposed to be back in your own time?"  
  
"I'll explain later," replied Trunks. He helped Gohan to his feet just as the Demon leaped forward from the concealment of the bushes. Gohan and Trunks reacted at the same time, Gohan powering up to Super Saiyan, and Trunks building energy for an energy blast. They both unleashed their energy at the same time. Two golden beams smashed into the Demon simultaneously. It shrieked and fell to the ground. It started to get up again, but the duo blasted again, turning the monster into ash.  
  
Trunks smiled, but suddenly his face turned into a concerned frown as Gohan fainted beside him.  
  
Author's Note: I actually added this chapter even though I didn't get any reviews, just because people might be more inclined to read it if there was more than one chapter! =) Anyway, whether or not you like my story, please review it! I really wanna know what people think! 


	3. The Lord of Nightmares

Chapter Three: The Lord of Nightmares  
  
Gohan finally woke up again - this time, several days later. His head hurt much worse than before, and his body was practically paralyzed from the pain that ran through it. He thought about what had happened before he has passed out. Somehow, Trunks had shown up, and helped Gohan defeat his Demon assassin. Gohan had been incredibly weak at the time, and transforming into a Super Saiyan must have tired him out completely. And then, there was that doctor. . .  
  
"Ah!" cried Gohan, "Trunks!" The teenaged Saiyan rushed to his side.  
  
"You're awake, Gohan!" he said happily, "What's wrong?"  
  
"The doctor!" yelled Gohan, "He let that Demon into the hospital without a fight!"  
  
"What?" asked Trunks. He shook his head, "Gohan, you must still be delirious from passing out. I didn't see any doctor when I showed up to save you."  
  
"He must have left!" said Gohan, "I heard him say that he. . ." Suddenly, Gohan's strength left him again. He had gotten too excited, and he had lost all of his energy. Just then, the door opened loudly. The two Saiyans turned to see the doctor enter the room.  
  
"You!" said Gohan.  
  
"Ah, hello Gohan," said the doctor, "Feeling better?" Gohan was about to respond, but Trunks, seeing that he didn't have enough energy to do so, did so for him.  
  
"Did you let that Demon in," he asked bluntly. The doctor seemed surprised by his question.  
  
"What? No of course not!" he responded.  
  
"Can you prove that?" asked Trunks.  
  
"Well, I can't even remember what happened that night," replied the doctor, "I was treating Gohan, and then I left to go home. The next morning I was here again. It was very weird." Gohan thought for a moment, then said,  
  
"Could you excuse us please?" asked Gohan to the doctor. He nodded and left the room again.  
  
"What's up Gohan?" asked Trunks.  
  
"You heard about what happened at the ruins, right?" asked Gohan.  
  
"Yeah, go on. . ."  
  
"Well before we fought, the Demon there said something about looking into people's minds. Maybe they can control people, and that's why the doctor can't remember what happened!" Trunks considered that for a minute.  
  
"You could be right," he said, "Listen, I'm going up to Korin's Tower to get you a Senzu Bean. We can talk later."  
  
"Wait," said Gohan, "What about the doctor? What if he tries to let another Demon in?"  
  
"Don't worry," replied Trunks, "I won't be long, and even if that doctor is under the Demon's control, he won't try anything just yet because we suspect something!" Gohan nodded. Trunks left the room, and Bulma entered moments later.  
  
"Oh, hey again, Bulma," said Gohan.  
  
"Hey, Gohan! How are you today?" she asked.  
  
"I'm tired, but I'm okay otherwise. Tell me, how did it go with Vegeta?" Bulma's face went grim.  
  
"Well, that could take me a few minutes, it's a long story," she said. Gohan looked at the bed and the bandages he was in.  
  
"I've got time." She smiled.  
  
"Okay, well I finally got a hold of Vegeta, but unfortunately he was. . . less than helpful," explained Bulma, "But then, my father had an idea. As everyone but Vegeta knows, Trunks is much stronger than him, not to mention he'd be willing to offer his help. Unfortunately, he had already returned to the future, so my dad suggested we send him a message. We tried, but couldn't find out how to send a message across time."  
  
"So what did you do?" asked Gohan. "Well I carved a message in the wall of Trunks' room. That way, when he grows up he would be able to read it and come help! I said Trunks, when you return from helping Goku and the others defeat the androids, you have to come back to our time and help out with a problem we've been having. I knew he would be confused, but when he showed up, I explained everything that you told me."  
  
"Wow! Bulma that is so smart!" cried Gohan. Bulma smiled proudly. "You're a genius!"  
  
"Well, I knew that!" said Bulma.  
  
"Mom, you sure are modest," said a voice sarcastically. Trunks walked into the room carrying a small leather pouch. He opened it and pulled out a small, green bean. He placed it in Gohan's mouth. He chewed it, and immediately felt better.  
  
"You work fast," he said between chews.  
  
"Well Gohan, I've been training some in the future, so I'm a lot faster now!" replied Trunks. Gohan smiled happily. A few seconds after he swallowed his bean, he felt good as new. He leapt up from the bed and ripped off all his bandages before stretching widely.  
  
"Wow, you look a lot better!" said Bulma.  
  
"Hey, Bulma," said Gohan, "We're going to go find the other Demons now, okay?"  
  
"Well, sure Gohan, but what are you going to say to your mom?" asked Bulma. Trunks was already outside the window, and Gohan was climbing out the window when he replied,  
  
"Well I'm not going to tell her anything! You are!" he smiled smugly and took to the air, leaving Bulma in the room all alone.  
  
"Hey! Gohan! Wait!" cried Bulma. But it was too late; Gohan was long gone.  
  
*****  
  
Gohan and Trunks flew through the air, high above the clouds, while searching for the strongest Ki they could find. Unfortunately, theirs was the only ones in the area.  
  
"Maybe the Demon can hide their power levels like we can," suggested Trunks.  
  
"That's possible," replied Gohan, "Because when I was down in the ruins, I couldn't sense the Demon until I saw him!"  
  
"That sure does complicated things," said Trunks. Gohan nodded and continued searching for the powers they were looking for.  
  
*****  
  
The black figure approached the sphinx in the desert and was immediately joined by a dozen others. The leader raised his arm and concentrated on the stone statue before him. Yes, he could defiantly feel the presence of something of his master inside. He motioned to the others and they proceed to enter.  
  
Once inside, the figures navigated a series of maze-like passageways that seemed to lead ever downward. They followed the passageways until they emerged into a huge chamber with many hieroglyphics and symbols lining all the walls and pillars of the room. The room was empty except for a stone boulder in the center of the floor.  
  
The lead figure moved to the boulder, and slowly pushed it aside to reveal a small hole in the floor. It then withdrew a few steps and began to concentrate on the hole. The other figures did the same. Their power was just enough to awaken the one who was imprisoned there. A huge black shadow flew up from the hole and landed before the figures.  
  
Slowly, the shadow began to take form. Limbs began to form, and a head and body appeared. Then the shadow disappeared, and in its place was a Demon much more terrifying than those that had awakened it. It was about the same size with long limbs and massive muscles. Huge robes appeared to cover the body, and a hood covered the head. The Demon raised its arm and a staff appeared in its hand.  
  
The Demon moved passed the other Demons, not pausing for a second. Then it turned and said in a low, raspy voice,  
  
"I am the Lord of Nightmares! And I vow to have complete control over the world by the time the sun rises and falls thrice! Go now, my Demon followers and do my bidding!" With many screeches, the Demons all lifted their wings and flew from the sphinx with blinding speed - their leader laughing wildly behind them.  
  
*****  
  
"Oh, man! Gohan, did you feel that surge of power!?" asked Trunks.  
  
"Yeah," replied Gohan, "It was far away, but that was defiantly one of the Demons."  
  
"I don't know," said Trunks, "It seemed a lot stronger than the Demon I fought."  
  
"It must have been their leader!" realized Gohan, "It's such a huge power!"  
  
"I know," replied Trunks, "I don't know if I can handle it. Can you?" Gohan shook his head.  
  
"We're gonna have a heck of a fight on our hands here, Trunks. If only my dad were here. . ." They turned to fly west, hoping to find the Demons before they lost them again.  
  
*****  
  
Several hours later, they finally reached Egypt. The power they had been sensing had steadily becoming stronger as they got closer and could pick it up better. The two Saiyans landed in the sandy terrain that was the desert and looked around, trying to located the exact location of the power.  
  
"There!" said Trunks suddenly. Gohan turned. His companion was pointing at the Great Pyramid that was just visible in the distance.  
  
"Let's go," said Gohan, somewhat reluctantly. They took off again and rushed toward the Demon that they intended to challenge.  
  
*****  
  
The Lord of Nightmares stood alone at the top of the Great Pyramid. He had sent his Demons off to destroy anything that crossed their paths. He would have joined them, but he was not at full power yet. Suddenly he felt a spike of power from somewhere to his left. Expecting to be greeted by one of his Demons, he turned to greet it. But it wasn't a Demon. It was Gohan and Trunks.  
  
"Greetings," he growled. Trunks merely nodded, but Gohan stepped forward.  
  
"Tell me," he said, "Are you the leader of the Demons?" The Demon looked at him for a moment before responding.  
  
"Are you the ones who killed two of my Demon followers?" he hissed. They stayed silent, so he went on, "And now you wish to challenge me, is that right? Ha! You don't stand a chance! I will destroy you both and then the world!" He then began to laugh, "I am the strongest person in the universe! You won't even prove to be a challenge!"  
  
Trunks laughed and knelt down to whisper in Gohan's ear,  
  
"Have you ever noticed that all the bad guys let us power all the way up just for a challenge? And then they always loose!" They both laughed hard, and Gohan even fell onto the ground.  
  
"What's so funny!?" yelled the Lord of Nightmares.  
  
"N. . . nothing!" replied Gohan, still laughing, "Just give us a second, and we'll be ready to fight you!" The Demon became very annoyed then. Without waiting for them to stop laughing, he charged down the side of the pyramid and attacked. Gohan and Trunks recovered from laughing quickly and both managed to avoid the attack.  
  
The Demon was very strong and fast however, and was not surprised by their sudden movement. He feigned an attack on Trunks, then turned the other way and punched Gohan square in the stomach. The young Saiyan went down on all fours.  
  
"Too easy!" cried the Demon and he raised a booted foot to bring down on Gohan's skull. But just as the foot came down, he rolled to one side, and the Demon's foot became buried into the ground. It growled, and lunged at Gohan. He came much faster this time, but suddenly stopped as Trunks grabbed his arm. He turned his head to look at Trunks, giving Gohan the opportunity to chop into the back on his neck.  
  
The Lord of Nightmares fell to the ground with a thud, and stopped moving. The two Saiyans moved closer to him, and that was when the Demon attacked. Summoning tremendous amounts of power, he made a magical red shield around himself which he extended outward. The shield slammed into Trunks and Gohan and threw them away.  
  
"You didn't think I would be defeated that easily, did you?" laughed the Demon. He powered up quickly. Red flames erupted from all around him. With blinding speed he attacked Trunks. He uppercut the still recovering teen with all of his strength, then slammed his heel into his chest. When Trunks didn't get up, he extended his arms and gathered a huge amount of energy, which he then blasted into Trunks' chest, firing him deep into a huge crater.  
  
Gohan leapt at him with a flying kick, but the Demon stepped back and grabbed his foot. He lifted Gohan up as if he were made of paper. Then he threw him with amazing might into the ground beside Trunks. The Demon laughed loudly, then turned to leave. Behind him, the two fighters got back up to their feet.  
  
"Oh!" said the Demon, "You're still alive. I'm impressed that you have such courage and determination, but you can never defeat me."  
  
"Is that so?" asked Trunks mockingly.  
  
"YES!!" the Demon snapped back.  
  
"Maybe you should let us show you our true power!" suggested Trunks.  
  
"Oh, you are stronger than this?" asked the Lord of Nightmares. The Saiyans nodded. "Then show me," said the Demon. The two Saiyans braced themselves into the ground with their legs, then pulled their hands into fists and their arms closer to their bodies.  
  
Gohan was the first to scream. His cry pierced the night air and suddenly huge amounts of yellow light burst forth from all around him. Trunks cried out next. His muscle size increased, and his eyes rolled back into his head. Sand flew from the bases of their feet in all directions, and strong winds whipped around the Demon's face. Clouds began to gather above, and lighting lanced downward, striking the two fighters. Instead of electrocuting them, it merely added to the incredible amounts of power flowing from them. Then, with a blinding flash, the yells stopped and the Demon was forced to look away.  
  
When the light had faded, he looked back to the Saiyans. Both were standing in the same place, but their hair was pushed up and was yellow, and they were both covered in yellow flames. Trunks' eyes had returned to normal, and they were both staring at him with hard-fixed eyes. Blue lightning leapt from all around their fists and bodies.  
  
"Trunks! I didn't know you could reach the level of Super Saiyan 2!" exclaimed Gohan. Trunks looked down at him.  
  
"Well, I told you I did some training when I had returned to my time!" he replied. Gohan smiled and turned back to the Lord of Nightmares.  
  
"It's time for round two, Demon!" the two Saiyans cried at the same time.  
  
Author's Note: Okay, I received a single positive review, but it was just enough to convince me to write the next chapter. I hope everyone was surprised at Trunks' new power. I like Gohan better, but they'll need all the power they can get for. . . what will happen next! =) Please R/R if you haven't already done so, or if you want to again! Peace! 


	4. Battle in the Desert

Chapter Four: Battle in the Desert  
  
Both Saiyans charged at once - Gohan coming in on the left, and Trunks on the right. The Lord of Nightmares stood firm, confident that no matter what power they had obtained with their transformation, he would still overcome it and defeat them.  
  
His attackers punched at the same time. The Demon crossed his arms over his face to block both blows. He began to fly backwards, in the same direction they charged. The super-powered Saiyans continued to unleash a dizzying furry of kicks and punches, but the Demon blocked all of them. Suddenly he leapt into the air, and his opponents' fists only hit air.  
  
The Demon aimed both of his arms down at the ground and sent hundreds of small red beams flying. Trunks and Gohan dodged all of them and flew up past the Demon. Trunks held both of his hands together and brought them both down on the Demon's head, sending him flying toward the ground.  
  
As he fell, he started to recover, Gohan flew down, and head butted him in the stomach. He then powered up and flew around the Demon's back and down to the ground. Gathering much of his energy into his hands, Gohan then used the powerful Masenko attack taught to him by Piccolo. A huge beam of yellow and purple energy slammed into the Demon's back, sending him flying upward towards Trunks, who fired his own beam back!  
  
Then the Lord of Nightmares was caught between the two conflicting energy blasts. His cloak was immediately disintegrated and he was loosing strength fast. Then somehow he managed to gather just enough energy to throw around him as a shield. He extended both arms outward, deflecting both attacks to the side. They impacted the desert some distance away, making two huge craters.  
  
He looked down at Gohan in anger, only to discover that the small Super Saiyan was no longer on the ground. He looked around in confusion, and a second later; Trunks planted a booted foot in his face. Gohan came up behind him and punched him five times in the spine. The Demon was stunned, but he managed to recover. He through up his energy shield again is desperation. The two fighters were thrown back and before they could recover, the Demon attacked.  
  
Red fire lanced from the Lord of Nightmare's fingers. It impacted Trunks' chest and ate through his armor. It cracked and split in half, falling down to the desert floor. The fire then began to eat away at his jumpsuit. But luckily, two fists are much better than one. Gohan's hand came up violently and slammed the Demon's head forward. His face was pushed right into the same fire that he was firing. The Demon cried out in pain, then stopped shooting the fire. Trunks and Gohan both fired massive golden beams at the same time. They impacted the Demon, and threw him deep into the earth.  
  
Trunks and Gohan looked down upon the crater, well aware that the Demon was still far from beaten. A huge explosion rocked the earth as red energy emerged from multiple points under the ground where the Demon was buried. The ground was suddenly ripped away and the Lord of Nightmare's was once again on his feet.  
  
Trunks and Gohan flew down toward him, but the Demon was faster. He pointed his fingers outward and sent the red fire flying again. Both Saiyans were caught in the blast. The Demon could still see them through the fire, and he new each second they were immersed within it they lost strength.  
  
But then, both Saiyans appeared on either side of him. Before he had time to understand why, two fists hit him on either side of his face, sending him flying backwards. He halted in mid-air. His opponents did the same.  
  
"Just how did you escape from my inferno?" inquired the Demon, "I saw you in there at the same time you appeared beside me!" Gohan smiled.  
  
"You assume that whatever you see is what is real," he said.  
  
"Isn't it?" replied the Demon.  
  
"Not when we move faster than light," said Trunks, "The image of us in the fire takes a certain amount of time to reach your eyes. We flew beside you so fast, that the image of your fire not hitting us didn't reach your eyes before we attacked!" He smiled, "That one was my idea." Then Gohan and Trunks both assumed fighting stances.  
  
The Lord of Nightmares thought for a moment. He knew there was no way he could defeat the duo while they fought as a team - he had to split them up!  
  
"Well boys, it's been fun, but now I'm going to have to fight you," he said. He didn't really mean it - he HAD been fighting at full power, but the comment distracted his opponents for the brief second he needed. The Demon gathered red lightning in both of his hands. Then he shot the electricity forward at Trunks.  
  
"NOO!!!" cried Gohan. He jumped in front of Trunks, and took the attack head on. The lightning danced over all over his body, but he felt no pain. Instead, he felt nothing. His body suddenly went limp and he fell from the sky, paralyzed. Gohan thudded into the ground. He groaned and tried to move, but found he couldn't. The red lightning still danced over him, locking his hands behind his back, and holding his feet together.  
  
"Heh heh he! Now it's just the two of us!" laughed the Demon. Trunks scowled at him. Their advantage was now gone, and Trunks wasn't sure how long he could fight the Demon leader one-on-one. He didn't want the Demon to realize he was afraid, so he attacked.  
  
The Demon was slightly unprepared for the sudden attack, but he now held the advantage so he recovered quickly. He kneed Trunks in the stomach, which hurt him a lot because the fire there had hit him before. Realizing this, the Demon bent down and began punching his stomach multiple times. When he reached twenty hits, he extended his right leg and brought it around. The kick slammed into Trunks' side and sent him flying to the side.  
  
Then the Lord of Nightmares was on him again. He came up from beneath Trunks, who was flying with his back parallel to the ground. The Demon nailed his left elbow into the Saiyan's back, which made him let out a cry of anguish, and sent him flying upward. Only three seconds later, he brought his foot down on Trunks' arm, breaking the bone within. The teen cried out again, his voice echoing throughout the desert. The Demon then extended his right arm and blasted a massive red beam into Trunks, who was sent into hundreds of feet into solid rock.  
  
The Demon floated down to stand in front of the Great Pyramid. Before him, Trunks was crawling out of the crater, one hand clutched firmly on the forearm of his broken arm. The Demon roared with laughter,  
  
"Not so tough now, are you?" he mocked, "Not without your little tag-team!"  
  
"You seem so confident in your abilities, Demon," replied Trunks, "But let's see you survive this!" He took his one good arm and extended it straight outward. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate all of his energy into his hand. Small golden sparkles began to appear and slowly fly toward the glowing ball that had appeared and was rapidly expanding. "Here's a little something my father taught me!" yelled Trunks, "FINAL FLASH!!!!"  
  
A truly massive beam of golden energy flew forward from Trunks' hand with blinding speed. Although it didn't touch the ground, the sands of the desert parted to let it pass. In fact, the earth beneath the beam cracked and exploded with its passing. Trunks' eyes were set on the Demon. He had put all of his energy into this attack! It had to hit him! Come on! Come on! Thought Trunks.  
  
Then, in classic Matrix style, the Lord of Nightmares flung the top portion of his body back. His head was now facing the sky, and his back, the ground. The beam swept over him, only grazing the hairs on his chest. It slammed into the Great Pyramid behind him and exploded.  
  
A huge golden ball of fire consumed much of the desert, totally ripping apart the pyramid. Huge stone slabs flew in all directions. The Demon instantly flew upward above the explosion, but Trunks was not so lucky. He fell to his knees in exhaustion from overuse of energy, and couldn't dodge the stones flying at him.  
  
They cut deep into his flesh, and impacted many of his sensitive spots. His funny bone seemed to explode with pain, and his lost feeling in his good arm. One stone hit him square in the forehead, and Trunks blacked out. The last image in his head was of the Lord of Nightmares laughing at him from high in the sky.  
  
*****  
  
The Lord of Nightmares flew over to where Gohan lay in the sand, still confined by the lightning bonds. The young boy looked up at him, a look of pure hate in his eyes.  
  
"Why? Why are you doing this?" he asked the Demon.  
  
"Don't you know?" was the response, "When I began to study magic, it somehow gained control over me. It made me evil, but it also made me powerful! Now I have the power to destroy the universe, and I aim to do just that!"  
  
"You villains are all the same," said Gohan.  
  
"Shut up you little brat!" snapped the Demon. He hit Gohan across the face with his fist. The little Saiyan then spat in his face. The Lord of Nightmares got mad then. Loosing his composure, his face screwed up and his eyes narrowed. He brought back his right hand and formed a glowing energy ball. Gohan's eyes went wide as he realized that he couldn't dodge or block the attack! The Demon screamed and started to bring his hand down, but just then, someone grabbed his wrist and stopped him. The Demon growled and turned to look at the one who held him. Gohan looked too.  
  
It was Goku!  
  
"D. . . daddy!" cried Gohan. Goku squeezed the Demon's wrist, making him cry out in pain. Then the full-grown Super Saiyan sent him flying with a roundhouse kick. He then bent down and placed his hands on the electric bonds that held Gohan and pulled. The bonds shattered and Gohan got to his feet. "What are you doing here?" he asked Goku, "I thought you were in heaven!" Goku smiled.  
  
"I was," he said, "But I was wished back - by Vegeta."  
  
Author's Note: Ha! Left you hanging there! I bet you never suspected Vegeta would come through for us, much less wish Goku back! Wa ha ha! Don't worry, this will all fit into the show's storyline in the end - Goku is supposed to be dead until the Buu saga, and some other stuff I need to iron out. Also, I know this chapter was kinda short, but I hope the constant fighting made up for it! Bye bye! 


	5. Free For All Battle in the Desert

Chapter Five: Free For All Battle in the Desert  
  
Gohan stared at his father in disbelief.  
  
"Vegeta?" he asked, "Wished YOU back??" Goku smiled broadly. "But why?" continued Gohan, "He practically hates you!" Goku laughed.  
  
"That's true! But he told me that he wanted me to help defeat all these lesser demons so that he could go one-on-one with the leader. He collected the Dark Star Dragonballs and wished me to the planet he was on. Then, I used the Instant Transmission to bring us here."  
  
"Oh, well I'm glad you're here! Me and Trunks were doing well against the Lord of Nightmares, but he split us up and defeated Trunks!" said Gohan.  
  
"Lord of Nightmares?" asked Goku, "Is he their leader?" Gohan nodded. Then he remembered that Trunks had a bag of Senzu Beans. He rolled onto his feet and rushed over to where Trunks lay.  
  
"Oh no!" he cried, "The beans were in his armor and the Demon shattered it! They could be anywhere in the desert by now!" Goku walked up to his side.  
  
"There isn't time, Gohan, we'll have to look later," said the boy's father.  
  
"Huh, why?" asked Gohan. Goku pointed to where the Lord of Nightmares was already walking toward them.  
  
"Grr. . . Who are you?" asked the Demon. Goku turned to face him.  
  
"My name is Goku, and I'm one of the earth's protectors!" he replied. The Demon smiled.  
  
"It seems as though it's two against one again. Perhaps I should call on some allies to even the odds a bit!" The Demon lifted his arms in the air and shrieked loudly. Gohan and Goku looked around, but didn't see anything. But after a moment, Gohan cried out,  
  
"There!" he pointed to the sky. Goku turned and immediately saw about a dozen black shapes flying toward them. As they got closer, the black shapes began to take shape, forming giant Demons with wings.  
  
"The Demons. . . they're returning to him. . . " mumbled someone to their left. Goku and Gohan turned to see Trunks crawling toward them.  
  
"Trunks!" cried Gohan, "You're okay!" Trunks nodded then fainted. Gohan began to move to his side, but Goku put a hand in front of him.  
  
"He'll be okay. Right now I need you to help me with these Demons," said Goku. Gohan stood stunned for a moment, trying to decide whether to help Trunks, or fight with his father. Finally he decided, and took a fighting stance beside Goku.  
  
Before them, the Demons landed in a row in front of the Lord of Nightmares. They seemed to know what had been going on without being told. Suddenly, before either side could attack, a huge energy blast slammed into the center of the Demons, disintegrating one, and sending several others flying. A Saiyan in armor like Trunks' landed directly in front of Goku. He looked back over his left shoulder.  
  
"So are we in agreement?" asked Vegeta, "I help you with these Demons, and when they are dead, I get the leader?" Goku nodded solemnly. Vegeta smiled, nodded his approval, and turned back to face the Demons, who were lining back up already. Suddenly, Vegeta and Goku cried out in the same way Gohan and Trunks had earlier. Yellow light and flames erupted around them, and the earth below them cracked and shook. The Demons stood in awe as two more Saiyans powered up to the next level of power. When it was finished, their hair was golden and spiky, and they had the trademark electricity around their hands.  
  
"I see Trunks wasn't the only one who's been training!" exclaimed Gohan. Goku smiled at him, but then turned to face the Demons. It was the last time he smiled for a long time.  
  
The Demons and the Saiyans charged one another at the same time. Dust and sand swept all around them as they engaged in a serious fight. Each Saiyan had four to five demons on him, and the chaos that ensued was hard to follow.  
  
Two Demons came at Gohan from either side, but he bent down at the last second, making their heads slam into each other. As they stumbled backwards in confusion, Gohan stood up again and extended his arms on an 180o angle. Gathering his energy, he managed (with a lot of effort) to fire two Masenkos at once. The beams hit both Demons sending them flying, but did not kill either one.  
  
Near Gohan, Goku was in the middle of at least five Demons who were clawing at him with huge nine-inch nails and teeth. The nimble Saiyan dodged most of them, but suddenly he felt a searing pain as one claw ripped into his cheek. Luckily, the cut wasn't deep, and he was able to ignore it for the rest of the battle. He leapt upwards, and noticed that the five Demons were all very close together. On the horizon, the sun was just peeping onto the desert. Goku smiled as a plan suddenly came to mind. He brought his hands to either side of his face and extended his fingers.  
  
"SOLAR FLARE!!!" cried Goku. Blinding white light stabbed into the eyes of the Demons. Temporarily blinded, they could do nothing but stumble and knock into each other. Without wasting any time, Goku prepared to fire his trademark move into the small band of Demons, which he hoped would even the odds a bit early into the battle. He cupped his hands to his side and began to gather energy.  
  
Suddenly, another Demon charged Goku from the side. Gohan saw the thing coming and tried to get free of his attackers and help his father, but they sent red fire lancing toward him and he was forced to dodge to the other direction. Goku noticed the Demon coming at him, but it was too late to stop gathering energy, and the Demons below were already getting their eyesight back. Reluctantly he turned toward the attacking Demon and threw his arms forward.  
  
"KAMEHAMEHA!!!!!" he shouted as a huge beam of blue and white energy shot forth from his hands. The beam was too big for the Demon to avoid, or even block, and he was instantly consumed by it. It shrieked and clawed at the energy, but after only a few seconds, it exploded into a pile of ash that fell from the air like small bits of paper.  
  
*****  
  
Red fire lanced at Vegeta, but he dodged it and sent a small energy blast back. Not waiting to see if it had hit its target, he turned to the closest Demon and attacked. His booted foot slammed into the Demon's face, snapping its head back. The thing roared with rage and swung a horizontal punch, but Vegeta was already under it and landing several punches and uppercuts into the Demon's stomach. The Demon let out cries of pain, and Vegeta knew he was doing loads of damage. He placed one hand around the Demon's neck to keep if from moving, and placed the other on its chest. He fired a small but powerful energy blast through the Demon, which was unable to move. When Vegeta had stopped shooting, the thing fell lifeless from the sky.  
  
Then the Demons somehow got renewed strength and surged toward the attackers, forcing them back together. Vegeta, Goku and Gohan stood back to back as they parried fights kicks and fire, and returned their own attacks when the opportunity presented itself. Finally, Goku shouted above the din of battle.  
  
"This isn't working! We're a match for them one-on-one, so we have to keep it that way!'  
  
"I know, but how?" asked Gohan. Goku closed his eyes, but still managed to deflect the blows aimed at him. The others felt a huge amount of energy being used up, but when they turned they saw four Gokus standing there! Gohan's face brightened considerably.  
  
"Oh! You know the Split Form too!" he laughed. The four Gokus attacked the Demons before they new what was happening. While split apart, he didn't have as much strength, so he restrained from using energy attacks, but his vicious physical assaults drove the Demons back. With renewed power, and a golden opportunity, Gohan and Vegeta attacked.  
  
Gohan raised his arms high above his head and crossed his hands. The move momentarily left his front side open, and the Demons moved toward him. But only a second later the young fighter brought them back down, yelling, "KAMEHAMEHA!!!" in the process. The blue beam shot forward and smashed into the Demons. They were too close to dodge or block, and three of them died instantly. Another lost his right arm, and a fourth lost the entire side of his body.  
  
In the confusion that followed, Vegeta and the four forms of Goku flew straight into the remaining Demons. Vegeta punched the Demon with his side missing right in the middle of the wound, causing it to cry out in pain. Two of the Gokus then kicked it the face with such force that its neck broke instantly, sending its limp body to the ground below.  
  
The remaining two Gokus attacked the Demon missing an arm. They attacked with the same moves at the same time, landing dozens of kicks and punches all over the Demon's body. Then, with blinding speed, both fired energy blasts at the same time. The blasts impacted the Demon in the same place. They exploded with twice as much force, sending the attackers flying back, but disintegrating the Demon on the spot.  
  
Gohan and Vegeta regrouped on the ground and were joined by the four forms of Goku who merged back into one being. The three Saiyans were standing directly before the five remaining Demons. The moment of non-fighting ended abruptly, as the Demons each took a fighter and attacked. Four Demons went after Goku and Vegeta, and one went after Gohan.  
  
The Demon soared toward Gohan with blinding speed. It shot huge amounts of red fire at him, which sent the little teen right into the rocky ground. Gohan opened his eyes and saw that he had landed in front of the bag of Senzu beans! He grabbed the bag and shoved it into his boot before turning to face the Demon.  
  
The Demon was actually already almost on top of him, and it was only after three or four punches that he was able to retaliate. The young Saiyan kicked the Demon away, giving him a brief moment to gather enough energy to use another Masenko. The yellow and purple beam was dodged however. But Gohan was already above him. He cupped his hands and yelled,  
  
"KAMEHAMEHA!!!!!" for the second time that day. The beam smashed into the Demon, eating away at its bones and muscles, and also sent the thing flying toward a group of stone fragments that had been twisted into spikes by Trunks' Final Flash. The Demon was instantly impaled on one of the rocks, but it took it several more minutes to die.  
  
Without wasting any time, Gohan flew over to where Trunks was still laying unconscious. He pulled the bag of Senzu Beans from his boot and shoved one in Trunks' mouth. More out of reflex than awareness, he began to chew it.  
  
*****  
  
Goku's two attackers came at him from both sides. They shot red fire at him, but Goku merely dodged to the side. The fire blasts hit each other and exploded, taking Goku into the explosion. The Demons both began firing hundreds of small fireballs into the ever-growing explosion. They both stopped about the same time to see if they had gotten their target. Goku fell from the smoke slowly. He now had many burns and cuts, for he had not expected the fire to be so powerful.  
  
*****  
  
Vegeta's attackers also came from both sides, fire sprouting from their fingertips. The arrogant Saiyan was fast enough to avoid the attack, but the Demon managed to get very close, very fast. They punched him many, many times in the face. Vegeta created an energy shield himself, but they both fired their red electricity at him. Vegeta fell from the sky, unable to move.  
  
*****  
  
Vegeta and Goku landed beside each other. Clouds of dust and sand surrounded them for a moment, but when it cleared, they could clearly been seen lying there. Hundreds of burns and bruises littered their bodies. Vegeta's armor was cracked and broken in several places, and Goku's shirt and pants were also ripped. The two Saiyans looked toward the sky. Two of the Demons were floating above a hundred feet above them, and the final two another hundred feet above the first two.  
  
The Demons laughed and shrieked, well aware that they were now able to finish off their opponents. Neither Saiyan had enough strength to even get up, let alone fight off another attack. The Demons all charged at once, flying almost straight down at the helpless fighters. Goku closed his eyes in fear, but just as he did, he hear someone shout,  
  
"MASENKOOO HA!!!" and someone else shouted, "FINAL FLASH!!!" The voices were followed by loud explosions and many shrieks and cries of pain and agony.  
  
Goku risked opening his eyes. He no longer saw the Demons charging him. He looked over to his right and saw Gohan and Trunks floating about a hundred yards off, their arms extended, and smoke rising from their hands.  
  
"Gohan!" cried Goku. His son flew down and landed beside him, taking two Senzu Beans and placing them in both Goku and Vegeta's mouths. They began to chew them, and suddenly their strength was back. The two leapt from the ground and were on their feet in seconds. Trunks joined them and the four Saiyans were finally all standing at the same time. But suddenly, Gohan collapsed on the ground.  
  
"Gohan!" cried Trunks as he bent down to check on the young Saiyan.  
  
"He'll be fine," said Vegeta coldly, "He just used too many powerful energy blasts. He needs one of your Senzu Beans." Then Vegeta laughed, "Ha! Stupid boy has no idea how to control his power, even now!"  
  
Trunks shot his father an angry glance.  
  
"Father! Gohan saved all of us by using all of his energy! If we hadn't been here, he wouldn't have had to! So show some respect!" Vegeta glared at him, then turned his back to the other Saiyans.  
  
Goku took the Senzu Bag from Gohan's hand, and pulled out the last Senzu Bean. He placed the green been in Gohan's mouth, and the youth chewed hungrily.  
  
"Well, well, well. . . " said a cold voice. All of the Saiyans turned in surprise. The Lord of Nightmares was walking toward them with a look of almost happiness on his face. Goku, Gohan and Trunks all assumed fighting stances, but Vegeta stepped in front of them.  
  
"We had a deal remember? This one is mine!" he said to the other Saiyans. Trunks' eyes opened wide.  
  
"No, father!" he cried, "You can't go one-on-one with that thing! He's too strong!" Vegeta shrugged the comment off.  
  
"Not for me," he said, "I have been in constant training, and now I am stronger than you, the boy, and even Kakorot! Now step back, and let me show you!" Trunks started to move forward in protest, but Goku placed his arm in his way.  
  
"Let him go, Trunks," he said, "There is nothing you can do that will convince him." Trunks stared at Goku blankly for a moment, then nodded and stepped back.  
  
In front of them, Vegeta was walking toward the Demon King. He stopped and smiled.  
  
"Prepare yourself for the final battle!" he yelled to the Lord of Nightmares.  
  
Note: Almost done! I predict there will be only one or two more chapters left! Thanks for the people who reviewed my story, and gave me some encouragement to finish! Also, I'm sorry I spelt Goku's Saiyan name wrong, but I think it looks good enough don't you? Anyway, the final battle between the Saiyans and the Lord of Nightmares begins in the next chapter!!! 


	6. The Prince of Saiyans vs. The King of De...

Chapter Six: The Prince of Saiyans vs. The King of Demons  
  
Vegeta raised his arms high in the air, calling forth his newfound power. At first, nothing happened. Then the others noticed that everything was deathly quiet. They also noticed that massive amounts of black clouds were rolling in overhead. Everyone, save Vegeta, was looking up at the sky.  
  
Then Vegeta yelled. The yell pierced the silence and made everyone bring their heads back down to look at him. Vegeta was now hunched over - it looked like he was in a lot of pain. Thunder rumbled, and a red bolt of lightning struck Vegeta, causing his yell to increase in magnitude. The Saiyan's mouth opened wider than humanly possible, as his cry made the earth tremble beneath his feet.  
  
Suddenly, the whole planet shook violently. Huge cracks and fissures appeared all over the desert landscape, and a huge crater opened up below Vegeta. Suddenly, beams of light appeared all around Vegeta, completely covering him from view. The cry suddenly stopped, and the light disappeared. Vegeta stood there, perfectly calm. His muscles had increased drastically, and his body was covered in a red flaming inferno. His eyes had gone purely white, and there was so pupil to be seen. His hair was spiked up and backs and was now a golden-red color.  
  
The other Saiyans expected him to boast, or at least laugh. But he didn't. Instead, Vegeta charged the Demon with blinding speed.  
  
He brought up a right-handed punch that impacted the side of the Demon's skull. The dark creature stumbled back in surprise, and Vegeta punched him in the gut once. . . twice. . . three times before he grabbed the Demon's arms and planted his feet in his face. The Lord of Nightmares felt a horrible pain in his arms and cried out. Vegeta released him quickly and placed his hands on the Demon's chest.  
  
"BURNING ATTACK!!!" he shouted. Golden fire consumed both fighters, and they were lost from the view of the others. Suddenly, the smoke cleared to reveal the two fighters exchanging blow after blow. Fists flew faster than normal eyes can follow, and none of the attacks actually landed on their target. Finally, one of the Demon's kicks caught Vegeta in the ribs and sent him pummeling down to earth. The Demon followed him downward, but suddenly Vegeta did a mid-air flip and brought his hands up.  
  
Hundreds of thousands of red beams shot forward, but the Demon brought up his magical shield once more. The beams ricocheted off in all directions, impacting the ground in various places. Huge red explosions littered the whole desert, causing sandstorms and earthquakes.  
  
The Demon flied forward still, and sent fire lancing from his fingertips. Vegeta gathered some of his own energy and fired back. The energy blast and the fire beam smashed into each other, exploding with such force that it threw Goku, Gohan and Trunks flying from the front lines of the battle.  
  
The Demon flew toward Vegeta with his leg extended, but the kick only hit air as Vegeta suddenly disappeared. The Demon looked around in confusion, trying to find his opponent. He began to sense a huge power increase, but couldn't locate it.  
  
"GATLICK GUN - FIRE!!!!!" shouted a voice from above. The Demon looked up just in time to see a massive blue beam shooting straight toward him! Eyes wide in fear, the Demon lifted his hands up and forward. The beam slammed into his palms and pushed the Demon toward the ground. When the beam was about to force him right into the earth, the Demon was able to slow the speed he was being pushed at. Finally, his feet slammed into the ground, and still he held the beam back. The ground cracked and split beneath his feet, but he held firm. . . until Vegeta channeled for of his energy into the attack! The beam surged forward again, and the Demon was buried in a sea of rock, sand and fire.  
  
"It's amazing!" said Gohan suddenly. Goku and Trunks turned to look at him. "The Demon is strong, but it looks like Vegeta is growing stronger every second!"  
  
The Lord of Nightmares flew up from the hole and used an uppercut to send Vegeta flying upward. He then shot his magical red flames forward. Vegeta flew out of the inferno with his arms blocking his face from the flames. The Demon kicked him again, though. But the Saiyan prince redoubled his attack and fired an energy blast that caught the Demon off guard and sent him into the ground once again.  
  
Vegeta extended his arms forward and sent another barrage of beams into the place where the Demon lay. Then he paused to gather energy.  
  
"FINAL FLASH!!!!!" A huge golden beam slammed into the Demon. His eyes bulged and his body slowly began to crumble. Finally, he got his wits together and was able to throw up his shield.  
  
The Demon flew up to face Vegeta. His body was charred and burning in a dozen places, but he attacked anyway. Vegeta twisted to the side, and the Demon's punch missed its mark by just an inch. The Saiyan then grabbed the Demon's arm and lifted him above his head. He screamed with the strain of using his muscles so much, then sent the Demon flying down onto the same spike that the lesser Demon was impaled upon.  
  
The Lord of Nightmares cried out in horrible pain. His shriek was not of this world, and sent shivers through the others. But nevertheless, he was now suffering a fatal wound.  
  
"Yeah! He did it!" cried Gohan.  
  
"Well. . . the others thought I couldn't handle you," said Vegeta as he flew down to float in front of the Demon, "I guess I showed them!" Then Vegeta began to laugh. The Demon closed his eyes in pain, but then he too began to laugh. The Saiyan stopped laughing. "What!? What's so funny?" he asked, "You're weak and hurt, and you're also impaled on a rock! What is there to laugh about?"  
  
"You think that I am defeated, don't you?" laughed the Demon, "But I have a few tricks left up my sleeve!"  
  
'What? Your talking nonsense!" snapped Vegeta.  
  
"Ha ha! No, I don't think so!" replied the Demon, "Come to me, my servant!" Suddenly, a beam of energy came flying across the desert from the east. It came down and landed beside the dying Demon. The beam faded and then a figure was standing there. It was. . .  
  
"The doctor!" cried Gohan and Trunks at the same time. It was the doctor, but he was not himself. His eyes were white and he was slouched forward. Huge bags gathered under his eyes, and his skin was white. The Demon laughed once again and then cried out. As he did so, his body began to turn into white light.  
  
"What is this!?" cried Vegeta in shock. The four Saiyans looked on in horror as the white light turned into a small ball and shot into the doctor's chest. The doctor screamed in horror, then collapsed to the ground. Nothing moved for a moment, then the doctor got up again. This time, his eyes were blood red. The doctor laughed, but it wasn't his voice. It was the voice of the Demon.  
  
"Foolish mortals!" it said, "You had no idea that I can manifest my spirit into one of my followers! Now I am at full power again, and you, Vegeta are already tiring!" The Saiyan growled at him, then said,  
  
"Ha! You're in a weakling's body now! You're no match for me!" But the Demon merely shrugged.  
  
"You didn't let me finish," he said, "I have the ability to transform, no matter what body I am in!" The onlookers' eyes went wide.  
  
"Oh, that can't be good," said Goku. The Demon smiled, then cried again. This time, the earth didn't shake. No lightning filled the sky, no fire raged around the one powering up. Instead, the Demon simply became light again, and changed shape before becoming himself again. When the light had faded, what stood before them was a creature blacker than midnight, and more horrible than even Cell.  
  
The Demon was smaller now. He stood about as tall as Gohan, covered in black robes and a hood that covered his entire face. The thing wouldn't have seemed that evil, except for the two blood red eyes that glowed from beneath the hood.  
  
"Ha! You don't look that strong, Demon!" laughed Vegeta, "In fact, your smaller and weaker than before!" The Demon glared at him from beneath his hood.  
  
"We'll see about that," he said. The Demon's voice had changed as well. It was now much lower, and was more like a growl than anything. The Demon kicked off lightly from the ground and began to float a few inches from the ground. Then he charged toward Vegeta. The Saiyan punched, but the Demon was much faster now, and suddenly he was gone. Vegeta's punch hit air, and he lost his balance. The Demon reappeared under Vegeta and punched him in the stomach. Vegeta let out a cry of pain as he armor exploded violently. He felt two of his ribs break, and then his body was thrown up into the air. The Demon then sent his fire rocketing upward. It slammed into Vegeta, sending him flying high into the air, and burning his skin and organs. When the fire stopped, Vegeta fell from the sky, and landed on the earth's surface. He didn't move.  
  
"Vegeta!" cried Trunks. He rushed toward his fallen father.  
  
"No! Trunks, wait!" cried Goku out after him. But it was too late. The Demon was instantly standing before Trunks. He punched the teen three times in the face, and Trunks could almost feel the crakes forming on his bones. Suddenly, he jaw snapped and he cried out in pain. The Demon shot his fire out again, and Trunks was down beside his father. Then he turned to Gohan and Goku.  
  
"Y. . . yo. . . you. . . monster!!" cried Goku between clinched teeth. Suddenly, golden flames leapt up from all around him. "We will defeat you, Lord of Nightmares!" he yelled. The Demon laughed.  
  
"No longer am I the Lord of Nightmares!" he informed Goku, "From now on, you can simply call me Death."  
  
Author's Note: Only one chapter left! And I think it's going to be good too! I hope everyone enjoyed the story so far. You really though Vegeta had won, huh? Haha! Fooled you! 


	7. The Final Battle

Chapter Seven: The Final Battle  
  
"Come on, Gohan," said Goku, "Let's show this guy the true power we posses!" Gohan nodded as Goku pulled his blue wristbands off, then sat down to remove his weighted boots and shirt. Beside him, Gohan removed his heavy shoulder armor and cape, which were torn and broken already. Both stood, rubbing the spots where their weighted clothing had been. Goku looked over at his son, who nodded to his unspoken question.  
  
The two Saiyans turned up the heat, summoning the Super Saiyan fire to increase their fighting power. The two had learned a great lesson from fighting Cell: never power up too much, because it greatly reduces speed, and this Demon had already shown them his amazing speed.  
  
Goku and Gohan charged forward, each with one hand blocking, and one hand ready to strike. They punched at the Demon as quick as they could, but the Demon was suddenly gone, and reappeared behind them. He brought up both of his feet, slamming them into the back of the Saiyans' necks. Gohan went down, but tripped the Demon with his foot as he did so. Goku recovered quickly and fired a quick energy blast that threw the Demon back, and stunned his for a moment.  
  
Then Goku and Gohan were upon him with deadly barrages of punches, kicks and energy balls. None of them found their target, and soon the duo began to find their arms aching. The Demon took the opportunity to attack. Red fire shot out, completely consuming Gohan, and blocking him from view.  
  
"No!!" cried Goku, "Son!!!" Using his rage as a tool, the valiant Saiyan swung his foot around with all of his strength, and slammed it into the Demon's neck. Surprisingly, the Demon didn't even flinch - he only concentrated on shooting his fire.  
  
"What the. . . ?" said Goku absentmindedly. He gritted his teeth and jumped back, bring his hands forward and charging up every single bit of strength he could.  
  
"KA. . . " Blue lightning gathered in his hands, forming a massive energy ball.  
  
"ME. . ." The Demon sensed the power being summoned, and brought his fire swinging on a wide arc toward Goku.  
  
"HA. . . " The energy ball continued to grow.  
  
"ME. . . " The Demon's fire swept in closer, but Goku, taking another lesson from the fight with Cell, used his Instant Transmission to teleport directly behind the Demon.  
  
"HA!!!!!" shouted Goku. His beam exploded outward, blocking everything from Goku's view except light. Then suddenly Goku felt a searing pain in his back as red fire exploded all around him. He cried out in pain as the fire ripped through his exposed flesh.  
  
"Masenko!" cried Gohan from somewhere beside him. A loud explosion filled the air, and abruptly the pain in Goku's back subsided. He crawled to his feet and saw Gohan standing beside him. The boy had a lot of burns, but he appeared to be all right. The Demon was on his feet too. He had no scratches on him whatsoever.  
  
"You aren't even hurt?" asked Goku, "What kind of creature are you?" The Demon merely smiled and shot his fire forth once again. The Saiyans dodged to either side, but suddenly the Demon was all around them, moving so fast that it looked like there were more than one of him. Both Gohan and Goku tried to punch the robed figure, but he was much too fast for them.  
  
Gohan took a pair of chops to the head and went down into the sand and the Demon took the opportunity to lung at Goku. Unfortunately, the other fighter was only angered by his son's pain and was more than ready for the assault. He once again used his instant teleportation technique to appear behind the Demon. The thing whipped around, but Goku was already beside him. The Saiyan kicked the Demon in the face and when he punched back, Goku was already behind him again.  
  
In this way, using a combination of the instant transmission and his own attacks, Goku scored dozens of blows to the Demon, but the thing barely even slowed his attack. Finally, Goku began to get exhausted, but it was Gohan who saved him again. A huge beam of blue energy slammed into the Demon's side when it was attacking. The energy blast sent him flying into the sphinx where he had been reborn from. As the beam faded, his screams could still be heard from within the depths of the stone building.  
  
Gohan rushed to his father's side. He was in pretty bad shape. Burns covered all of his back and most of his lower body. Bruises and scratches littered all of his showing skin, which was a lot because his pants were ripped and torn, and one whole pant leg was missing.  
  
"F-father!" cried Gohan, "Are you okay?"  
  
"I will be, son," replied Goku hoarsely.  
  
"No he won't," said a voice. Gohan whirled around. The Demon was still alive, standing perfectly fine at the entrance to the sphinx. Gohan stood protectively between him and Goku.  
  
"Foolish boy," said the Demon, "What hope do you think you have against me?"  
  
"It doesn't matter how much hope I have," replied Gohan, "I'll fight to protect my father for as long as I breathe!" The Demon smiled evilly.  
  
"I wouldn't have it any other way," he replied. Red fire shot at Gohan, picking him up and throwing him backwards. The Demon laughed and approached Goku. He placed a foot on Goku's chest, causing him to cry out in pain. He felt at least one rib snap in two, and he cried out even louder.  
  
"YES!!!!" cried the Demon, "Your agony gives us Demons power!!" Then he laughed horribly, and Goku passed out.  
  
Gohan, who was just recovering from the fiery attack, stumbled forward toward the Demon.  
  
"Stop it!" he cried, "Why are you doing this?" The Demon smiled.  
  
"Because it's in my nature," he replied, "Demons thrive off power and fear, which is why I must take over the world! And you happen to be the only one standing in my way!" The Demon shot forward, hovering only inches from the ground. He punched Gohan in the face, and then kicked him in the ribs. The young Saiyan did not retaliate, so the Demon hesitated.  
  
"Why aren't you fighting me, boy?" inquired the Demon.  
  
"Why fight you when all you want is a challenge," replied Gohan, "I'm no challenge for you. . ." The Demon smiled.  
  
"Well at least you have some smarts about you," he replied.  
  
"Yet."  
  
"What??" cried the Demon. Gohan smiled and began laughing. "What's so funny?" asked the Demon, very angered now.  
  
"Well you see," said Gohan, "You shouldn't have made me mad. Every time I reach a certain amount of rage, I also reach a new level of power. Don't ask me why, I just do." He kept laughing. The Demon glared at him from beneath his hood.  
  
"Bull," he snapped, "If you think you can increase you power, go right ahead and try!" Gohan smiled,  
  
"Well, okay."  
  
*****  
  
"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" cried Gohan at the top of his lungs. He was exhausted from extensive use of the Super Saiyan 2 mode and the many energy attacks he had been using, but he still managed to increase his power. The ground shook and cracked, even more violently than when Vegeta, Trunks or Goku powered up to their max power. A huge beam of silver light slammed down all around Gohan. It began to twist and turn like a tornado, and excess energy shot out in all directions.  
  
Within the funnel, Gohan's power soared at an alarming rate, but suddenly the increase came to a halt. Gohan was surprised, but he could actually feel a barrier blocking his power. "What the heck?" thought Gohan, "This has never happened before." He tried to push through the barrier, but found he couldn't.  
  
"Let me through!" cried Gohan to the barrier in his mind, "I need this power to save the earth!" Outside of the silver funnel, the Demon could hear Gohan shouting. He could also feel the boy's power growing rapidly. The barrier did not yield - it only seemed to grow stronger.  
  
"What? Why can't I tap into this power?" wondered Gohan subconsciously. He thought about it for a moment, then the answer came to him. "Of course!" he cried, "There must be yet another level of Super Saiyan, but I can't reach it yet because this barrier is my human side blocking me! That's gotta be it!"  
  
Gohan concentrated on the barrier, trying hard to break through it, but it still stood strong. "No!" cried Gohan, "Saiyans are stronger that humans, so I can break through this barrier - and I'm going to do that RIGHT NOW!!!" He pushed through the barrier with his mind, and it shattered instantly. Power welled up from somewhere inside him, and filled him with amazing strength.  
  
Gohan's hair began to grow then. It grew longer and longer and silver light began to cover his entire body.  
  
*****  
  
Outside the silver light funnel, the Demon watched with growing fear as the young boy powered up to amazing heights. Whenever he thought the transformation was ending, the power merely shot upward yet again. Finally, he heard another cry, and the silver funnel expanded in all directions before disappearing. He was then standing before the strongest warrior he had ever faced.  
  
Gohan's hair extended all the way down to his waist, but it was still spiky and golden. His muscles had increased in size, and they were much firmer and rounded now. His eyes had changed color as well. They were no longer black or green; they were blue. Silver lightning covered his body as well, but not in the same way as the blue lightning of Super Saiyan two, or the red lightning of Vegeta's powered up form. This lightning was thicker and brighter, and it seemed to come alive around him. This was the lightning of Super Saiyan 3.  
  
"W-what is this new power??" asked the Demon. If he was trying to hold the fear from his voice, it did not show. Gohan did not respond. The Demon became blinded by rage and attacked Gohan, who merely stepped aside and stretched out his foot. The Demon tripped and fell, and then Gohan was upon him.  
  
Blow after blow impacted the Demon, sending him deeper into the ground each time. Then suddenly, Gohan jumped back and the Demon was on his feet again. He charged Gohan and punched him in the face, then the ribs, then the abs. The young fighter cried out, but did not fall. The two fighters floated backwards.  
  
"Well young one," said the Demon, "It appears that your new strength is almost equal to mine. Therefore, an extended battle would only be pointless. Instead, we shall settle this with energy, not physical attacks. The Demon shot his arms forward, and Gohan did the same. Golden fire exploded from the Demon, and silver fire exploded from Gohan as they fired their two most powerful attacks.  
  
The fire beams smashed into each other with such force that the two fighters were propelled back from the impact. Gohan managed to keep shooting his fire, even through the impact. The golden fire mixed with the silver fire in the middle, creating a radiating effect of energy and fire at the focal point.  
  
"Come on!" shouted Gohan, "With all this new power, I have to be stronger than him!" He called forth more power, bringing it into his fire. The silver fire exploded again, consuming the golden fire, and pushing it back toward the Demon. But he would not be defeated so easily, and the black- hearted fighter unleashed more power into his fire, driving Gohan's attack back toward him.  
  
The young Saiyan threw all of the energy he could into his blast in an attempt to hold off the golden fire that tore relentlessly toward him. Again the silver fire flared and drove the golden fire back, and again the golden fire came back harder than ever.  
  
"Don't you get it yet!?" yelled the Demon, "I have unlimited magical power! Unless yours is more than twice as strong as mine, you cannot win!" Gohan was shocked at how quickly he had forgotten the first Demon's words. He had said that their power came from another world; so using it did not tire the Demons out!  
  
The Demon used the momentary distraction of Gohan's thoughts to unleash even more energy. The golden fire smashed forward with new force, shattering the silver fire like paper. The golden fire gathered into a beam, and ripped through the fire and into Gohan! Luckily, Gohan's hands were still outward, so he managed to catch the fire in them. The force of the blow sent his hands back to his chest, and he barely managed to stop the fire from completely incinerating his body. His arms burned with ferocious strain, but he still managed to fling the fire aside before collapsing to his knees.  
  
"You may have managed to block my attack, but as you can see, I am still much too powerful for you," the Demon said as he approached Gohan, "Now its time for me to finish you off for good!" He raised an arm high in the air. It glowed with white light, then shifted form. It became a gigantic black lance that was bathed in golden fire.  
  
"Goodbye, Gohan," said the Demon.  
  
"No!" cried Gohan, "It can't end this way! Father. . . I've failed you, and the earth. . ." The Demon yelled, and pushed the lance downward toward Gohan, but it stopped about an inch from his face when a massive explosion smashed into the Demon's back. In surprise and confusion, he turned around to find his attacker, and Gohan saw his opportunity.  
  
The young Saiyan warrior cupped his arms for the final time that day and gathered every single bit of energy he had from within him, but he also felt the energy of others close by. Not knowing how, he managed to summon so much energy that the heat actually burned his own hands. Biting back on the pain, he gathered all of his energy into a ball of pure power. The Demon turned back to him only a split second before the attack came, and had only that amount of time to realize what was about to happen.  
  
"KAMEHAMEHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" A massive blue beam of energy shot out at the Demon from Gohan's outstretched hands.  
  
"NOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!" cried the Demon as the blast smashed into him and continued to fly out, holding him within the energy as wave after wave of power washed over him, tearing through his robes. Gohan watched intently through the energy as the Demon's true body was revealed. It was the most bizarre body he had ever seen - if you could even call it a body. The Demon was really just a shadow of darkness. Only his hands and feet were real, made that way for attack and defense purposes. His red eyes no longer glowed, for light from the beam illuminated his whole being.  
  
The Kamehameha's energy began to eat away at the Demon's shadowy form, chipping away at him. Suddenly, the Demon's arms and legs snapped off like deadwood, and immediately disintegrated from existence. It took longer for his body to disintegrate, but it did only seconds later. The only thing that remained of the Demon was his eyes, which were surrounded by a small amount of remaining shadows.  
  
Gohan was then out of all his energy and power, and collapsed to the ground. Standing before him were the three other Saiyans, who had managed to get to their feet finally. Gohan then understood that it was their energy that had been added to his own to destroy the Demon! He would have said something, but he did not have the strength to do so. His long golden hair shrank back to normal length, turned black, and the fire and lightning disappeared from around him.  
  
The Demon's eyes floated down to the ground and rested before Gohan. Goku and the others gasped, but found they didn't have the strength to even assume a defensive stance.  
  
"Don't worry," said the Demon, "I am dying, and I will not be harming Gohan." The others relaxed, but the Demon kept speaking.  
  
"I will however, be using one last bit of magical power," he said, "I will use it to erase your memories of the battles for the past few weeks. You may have defeated me, but you never know of the power you have obtained, and therefore, not be able to use it against the next wave of enemies that threatens your planet. You know of course that every few years someone evil attacks the earth, and next time, they will defeat you!"  
  
"What!?" cried Goku, "No!" The Demon laughed again.  
  
"Yes!" he said, "Gohan has reached a new level of Super Saiyan, and with any luck, he will never be able to tap into it again! And as for you, Goku. . . in order for you to believe that you have never witnessed this, you'll have to wake up in the Other World."  
  
"Oh no!" cried Gohan. Suddenly, the remains of the Demon glowed with red light, and Gohan felt his memory start to go hazy. He could not remember what had started the battle with the Demon, only that he had been fighting it. The last thing he saw before he forgot the whole scene was the Demon flying into Goku's chest and self destruct, sending them both into the Other World.  
  
*****  
  
Gohan awoke inside the hospital. He looked around the room, trying to figure out what he was doing there.  
  
"Are you alright?" said a voice. Gohan turned to the female doctor who had just walked in the room.  
  
"What happened?" asked Gohan, "Why am I here?"  
  
"The ruins you were exploring on your school's field trip collapsed. You must have hit your head because you were in a coma for five weeks." She smiled reassuringly, then left the room.  
  
Gohan leaned back on the bed. He thought he had been in a fight, but it must have been just a dream. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.  
  
Author's Note: It's finally done!!! Honestly, I think the last couple of chapters might seem a little less interesting because I was running out of ideas, but I hope everyone liked the ending! I told you I'd make it so this fit into the show! Unfortunately, in the series, Gohan never goes SSJ3, so I thought it would be cool if he did in my story! =) So actually, the Demon kind of won because Gohan probably could have taken out Majin Buu if he had the same level of Super Saiyan as Goku did at the time. Or he could have killed Dabura. . . anyway, that's the end. I'll leave it up to you to decide who won this fight, the Demon or Gohan. Please review, and be honest, because I really value your opinions! This is Little Frost, signing off! =) =) =) 


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